Early examples of intentional human cranial deformation predate written history and date back to 45,000 BC in Neanderthal skulls, and to the
Proto-Neolithic Homo sapiens component (12th millennium BCE) from Shanidar Cave in Iraq.[1][2] It occurred among Neolithic peoples in SW
Asia.[3]

Here are the links to Wikipedia's citations:
1,
2, and 3. If this is true, that
Neanderthals, and Proto-Neolithic Homo sapiens were also intentionally elongating heads this tends to cast doubt on the notion the elongated heads are
extraterrestrial unless aliens had their own version of Neanderthals and Proto-Neolitic E.T.'s.

This assumption on my part is not to cast doubt on the notion of alien visitation, however, and
this article points out:

Numerous ancient stone carvings, rock paintings, and mysterious monuments throughout the world hint that extraterrestrials (E.T.s) may have
visited this planet in the distant past. Granite carvings in Hunan, Asia, for example, show human figures gazing into the sky at hovering, cylindrical
objects on which other people are standing. These look much like today's UFO reports. The only problem is, these carvings are dated around 45,000 BC!
Petroglyphs in Toro Muerto, Peru, show figures with large transparent helmets. These rock carvings are dated at about 11,000 BC. On the Tassili
plateau in the Sahara Desert are sculpted rock figures, also with large, round heads, like helmets. These statues date back to around 6000 BC. Figures
carved into rock in Lomoukai, Nambu Province in Africa depict figures in what appear to be modern spacesuits.

These carvings are dated to around 4300 BC. Another example comes from the Australian Aborigines. Numerous ancient rock paintings depict short, robed
figures with large staring eyes and huge helmet-like heads, again the typical description of an extraterrestrial. These images are known to be 3,000
years old. More clues come from a wide variety of cultures. An early Colombian artifact looks almost exactly like the space shuttle. A clay sculpture
from a pre-Japanese culture shows what looks like an astronaut inside a pressurized spacesuit. Both of these artifacts are at least 3,000 years
old.

That Wikipedia article offers up, as reasons for intentional cranial deformation, group affiliation and social status, even suggesting that Queen
Nefertiti and King Tut may have had their heads intentionally elongated. As the Buzzle article I just quoted above suggests, or ask if aliens might
have inspired them in regards to the ancient carvings and wall paintings that are similar to UFO sightings today. Is it possible that the elongated
skulls were done intentionally and were done so to emulate alien visitors they viewed as godlike?

I am not one to put much stock into the whole Ancient Astronaut Theory, because that History Channel program has killed my beliefs in it. According to
that show, every human advancement in our entire history can be attribute to assistance from extra-terrestrials. I am not buying it at all. Call me a
naturalist, and a believer in human ingenuity and intelligence. Until I see a smoking gun regarding the topic of Ancient Aliens my stance will remain
on the fence.

In regards to these Peruvian children and elongated skulls? I have no idea, and perhaps it could be a result of an unknown tribal ritual or even good
old fashioned birth defects. Birth defects can be caused by a myriad of reasons like dietary deficiencies, radiation, inbreeding, and other things I
have no idea what. However, these incidents can in most cases if not all be attributed to a medical explanation. Allow me to take a stab in the dark,
could possible explanation be found in the case of the Peruvian findings be a result of long exposures to high elevations? I only say that because
many Peruvian settlements have been found at high elevations in the Andes Mountains. One notable example would be the city of Machu Picchu. Could the
craniums of these children enlarge themselves in utero to compensate for the lower levels of oxygen being obtained by the mother?

One hundred and forty million people live at altitudes above 2,500 metres (8,200 ft). Studies have found that these populations, especially people
living in the Andes and in the Himalaya, have ways of compensating for the lower oxygen levels that are different from people living at sea level.
Compared with acclimatized newcomers, native Andean and Himalayan populations have better oxygenation at birth, enlarged lung volumes throughout life,
and a higher capacity for exercise.

Just a thought. I am open to more modest and natural explanation until we find UFO wreckage or an ET smacks me in the face. Not buying the one size
fits all approach being promulgated by the Ancient Astronauts crowd to explain all ancient unknowns, and anomalies. I will give it to them, a lot of
what they postulate about is interesting in a science fiction sense, but not reality. Just my opinion. Great job Slayer, and I look forward to the
more in-depth thread about this topic.

I had to put this guy up for good measure, because he could very well be a martian.

edit on 27-7-2012 by Jakes51 because: Found a better video of the Ancient Astronauts guy, Giorgio A.
Tsoukalous.

I noticed a very interesting article in our local (Arizona) newspaper/online paper this morning about humans being bred with "other species" take a
look.

The human family tree just got another -- mysterious -- branch, an African "sister species" to the heavy-browed Neanderthals who once roamed Europe.

While no fossilized bones have been found from these enigmatic people, they did leave a calling card in present-day Africans: snippets of foreign DNA.

There's only way one that genetic material could have made it into modern human populations.

"Geneticists like euphemisms, but we're talking about sex," said Joshua Akey of the University of Washington in Seattle, whose lab identified the
foreign DNA in three groups of modern Africans.

These genetic leftovers do not resemble DNA from any modern-day humans. The foreign DNA also does not resemble Neanderthal DNA, which shows up in the
DNA of some modern-day Europeans, Akey said. That means the newly identified DNA came from an unknown group.

"We're calling this a Neanderthal sibling species in Africa," Akey said. He added that the interbreeding likely occurred 20,000 to 50,000 years
ago, long after some modern humans had walked out of Africa to colonize Asia and Europe, and around the same time Neanderthals were waning in Europe.

Akey said that present-day Europeans show no evidence of the foreign DNA, meaning the mystery people were likely confined to Africa.

I have seen her... she has more money than... never mind. Not my judgement call I suppose.

She looked a lot better before though IMO.

On topic -

S&F for another great thread. I am excited to see what comes of this. It is not beyond belief for me to believe that at one point humans did breed
with something else. Most of us breed with anything that walks these days, so why should it have been any different ages ago? I keep waiting for rock
solid evidence that something is/was among us, maybe this will be it. I hope you keep it updated!

I wonder if these skulls have the fibers running throughout the bones. The bones for star child were supposedly lighter and had like fibers throughout
it that gave them extra strength.

Also if the DNA can be recovered it would only be of the mother. She was probably human if we go with the concept that the fallen were males that took
on female partners. Mostly you hear of the sons of the gods having human mothers. I don't know much about it. It would be interesting to read about
what they find.

Thanks Furling but this doesn't explain how you would detect 'alien" DNA, ie DNA that is not human,mammal or earth DNA compatible...if aliens even
have 'DNA'! Considering the impossibility of breeding animals or anything else between distance species I always find it odd that people think
aliens and humans could mate and produce a viable off-spring....without of course using super high technology or something equivalent to magic, which
has the power to make an alien-human hybird look like a human with a deformed skull and the rest of body human.

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Other comments

There seems to be confusion between two separate issues, one that certain diseases cause large heads and two, that head binding can produce a modified
head, both are well known, why these would be deemed 'mysterious' because they are in the past. Now I understand the wish to have aliens found but
looking at deseased or modified human skulls and declaring them alien is not really going to help research into the area.

Remember folks in the movies and TV the aliens look human because........they use human actors

A physical anthroplogist or experienced paleoanthropologist could tell if a skull is not human within a few seconds.

This is a fascinating subject! The starchild is another fascinating find that has always interested me since first hearing about them. While I believe
alien species have visited Earth throughout history on occasion - I'm not convinced of all the theories surrounding it. Humanity has come a long way,
with no real evidence of occupation, only visitation....probably intervention...lol

It seems to me that there have been so many of these skulls found over the years and of course Nefertiti, that I am sure the test were done, long ago
they simply are not going to tell the public about it.

Scientists at
Zurich-based DNA genealogy centre, iGENEA, reconstructed the DNA profile of the boy Pharaoh, who ascended the throne at the age of nine, his father
Akhenaten and grandfather Amenhotep III, based on a film that was made for the Discovery Channel. The results showed that King Tut belonged to a
genetic profile group, known as haplogroup R1b1a2, to which more than 50 percent of all men in Western Europe belong, indicating that they share a
common ancestor.

Akhenaten and his descendants are all well known for having odd shaped slightly elongated skulls which has been speculated on from being a
"Genetic abnormality" which was the result of a "Recessive Genetic trait"

[align=center]Tutankhamun [king Tut] on top and his
father [Akhenaten] below [/align]

Posted on: July 12, 2007 7:05 PM Like Tutankhamun, the mummy was found to have an elongated skull due to a congenital condition
dolichocephaly, in which abnormally early fusion of the bones of the skull during development restricts the width of the head. And, also like
Tutankhamun, the mummy was found to have cleft palate, impacted wisdom teeth and slight scoliosis - or abnormal curvature - of the spine. It is
therefore probable that the individual had a genetic link with Tutankhamun.

Wasn't there an argument somewhere about how the volume of some skulls would not change from conditioning, as in physically stretching the skull over
time would change the shape but not volume within, and therefore some of these skulls shapes are not from force?

From my understanding from what I've read over the years [Granted most from accepted academic circles] is that the vast majority of elongated skulls
show roughly the same interior volume as a standard homo sapien skull. There are a few exceptions though.

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